Question

I wanted to know if anyone else has suffered or is suffering from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder or completely irrational thoughts whilst pregnant? I am 16 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child and I am so happy but I stopped taking depression meds when I found out I was pregnant, but now I wake up each day and all these irrational thoughts run through my mind. There is no problems with pregnancy thus far, and I want to enjoy this time in my life and this my husband and I's first child together. Any tips on safe medications or ways to reduce excessive anxiety? & this is not normal anxiety, I mean really time consuming, irrational fears. Thanks.

Mom Answers

Hey Sweety!
Yes Yes and Yes! I had a horrible case of OCD starting in the 4th month of pregnancy and I have gotten better but am still working on my stupid thoughts. I just gave birth to my beautiful son on June 30. During the pregnancy, I was going to therapy which I have been for a few years mainly due to issues from my parents divorce when I was younger. Therapy helped work through some of my OCD, but I also wrote about it, read about OCD to educate myself and I worked at it. My thoughts were out of control - from contamination, washing my hands, fear of harming my baby my irrational thoughts of dust getting near my vagina, making sure I rinsed the soap good from the shower since I was afraid the soap would hurt the baby, I hated garbage but at the same time I was obsessed with it. Whatever I threw out, I had to keep checking to make sure it was still in the garbage since I was afraid that I accidentally put it up my vagina??? Why would I do that? but that was what my head

was telling me. I even had worries that I ran somebody over on the road, thinking there was blood on objects and I would be infects, then I would just pass someone on the street and was afraid that I was raped, and my last thought that I am still trying to get out of my head and work on which is based on complete stupidity - is I was at a baby shower this past April. I was just anxious that whole day and I was afraid that this spanish lady with yellow contacts touched me. Since I was fixated on her eyes I was afraid that I poked or licked her eyeballs. The two girls that I was with they reassured me the next day that nothing happened I was in good hands the whole time we were at the shower. Once I was reassured I had to ask one of the girls, did any female or male worker touch me or did I touch them (like inside where the shower was being held) and she said no. A day later my head got more creative and said what if I met the valet guy in the bathroom and had sex with him? Well,

Hi Blessings
You have no idea how much it helped it hear about your thoughts and emotions, as I truly felt as though I was in this alone. I have the most irrational thoughts constantly, stupid things that can't possibly happen. I worry that people I've touched will give me germs that will hurt the baby, I worry that sitting on furniture isn't safe after others have sat on it. I really am going insane here. My depression has become so bad this week, I don't know how I am supposed to control it. I may have to go back to the psychiatrist to get medication back because I can't take this. I really do need someone to talk to, as my husband really doesn't understand emotions at all..Thanks for taking the time to read my post. It really helps!

Oh my GOSH i can relate to this, some of the fears yall expressed made me LOL, not out of being mean, but because these fears all have a similiar basis from person to person, and we don't even know eachother. Basically these are irrational fears, but not only that, you truly see how OCD is not just a genetic predisposition to the disorder but also has enviromental factors (this is the basis of our fears).

I am almost 23 weeks and am constantly worried about hurting people in my sleep or I have random irrational thoughts! It is horrible!!!! I feel like I am going insane!!! Did any of you return to normalcy postpartum?

I know what you are going through! My OCD centers around HIV infection. I have convinced myself I have been infected with HIV and will pass it on to my baby. I am 22 weeks now and have stopped eating and drinking because of the anxiety. My doctor put me back on Zoloft 100mg and I hope it starts working soon. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I am thinking about HIV and how I will live with the disease and how horrible I will feel when my baby is born with it. In retrospect, I should have never gone off my medication and wished I had been seeing a therapist. I am on my second day of medication and have an appointment to see a psychologist next week. I feel like there may be hope but am still constantly fearing the fact that I have been infected. Please any advice?

You can read the book "Brain Lock" which was helpful to me during my worst times of OCD. If you want to talk with me or share anything I am totally here to listen. I hope I didn't freak you out with my thoughts but I am just being open as to what I went through. I am here for you if you need!
xoxoxo
Love,
Christine

this absurd thought created such friggin anxiety that I had to ask for reassurance which was bad since it was feeding the beast, I wrote about it, etc. Its amazing how the mind just created crap in your head and ups the ante each time. This thought created such feelings of guilt, etc. I obviously know that I didn;t do anything especially since I get freaked out with getting a disease at the nail salon..lol..My husband is the only person I have been sexually active with and I love love him and would never hurt him. Its annoying because everytime I talk about this I feel like I have to defend myself which is such bullshit since it is merely an absurd and instrusive thought. We tend to think of things or attach feelings of anxiety to a thought because we are so against the idea to begin with and would never act on it or do something against our morals.
Anyways, I know that zoloft and prozac are safe during pregnancy which you can ask your doctor about. You can read the book

I just went through IVF and i just got my embryo transfer today, im havining irrational and hurtful thoughts. I got cought up in the (what if i sold my embryos to the devil and then that way i will have a positive pregnant result) it hurts me by thinking in such a way im overworried and feel guilty for thinking in such a way. I have suffered from OCD and i think its coming back. Has anyone out there experienced something similar HELP! I Im suppose to be relaxing and i feel guilty and horrible for having such a thought

I know exactly how you feel. I do not have any advice, but it helps me to know that I am not alone. I am 16 weeks, and I worry about every little thing. I wash my hands constantly, and I make my husband crazy by asking him to wash his hands, even if he already has. I just worry about harming the baby with some germ! I am a teacher, and I cringe when I touch door knobs or my students' pencils. I rarely take Tylenol for headaches, but if I do, I stare at it and check the lot number to make sure it is really Tylenol. I am the same way with my vitamins. It sounds even crazier when I put it down on paper, but it is just how I feel. I pray about this worry and this pregnancy, but my faith is not strong enough to help me over come my anxiety. I would never consider medication because I would be too worried aobut side effects. I would love to enjoy this pregnancy, but things seem to get worse every day.

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